Caravan 841

In this emotionally powerful drama, we see a compelling vision of contemporary immigrant life in Israel. Moshe, an Ethiopian immigrant boy, lives in a temporary refugee camp where he anxiously waits to be reunited with his mother, who has been left behind in Addis Ababa. While he waits for news of her situation, his refugee camp is slated for closure and his fate falls into the hands of insensitive government bureaucrats. As a vulnerable young person on the edge of society, he is torn between the adults in his life-Aharon, the strict but caring Orthodox teacher who tells him to trust in God, and his new friend Walter, an African American saxophone player who teaches him to trust in himself. Beautiful, bittersweet, and hopeful, CARAVAN 841 reveals the reality of Ethiopian immigrant life. With music by Billie Holiday and Bob Marley. Winner, Best Script, Jerusalem Film Festival 2001. -Deborah Kaufman